Rock Candy [Release date : 24.05.24]

Rock Candy Records are perhaps, unfairly, more associated with AOR and Melodic Rock than they are Metal, but among reissue labels they have no peers when it comes to value judgement.

The always underrated Vicious Rumors bounced back with their fourth album, Welcome To The Ball (1991), after two less than sparkling follow ups to a hugely impressive debut.

For the band, deploying a harder rocking style around a metal core seemed like an astute decision, and one that in no way lessened the respect they had gained among genre aficionados.

What it did was give their music a commercial edge. ‘You Only Live Twice’, ‘Raise Your Hands’ and ‘Children’ are the band at their best. By putting aside the groove metal and speed metal onslaughts of the past, they reveal a band willing to walk a high wire between hard rock and heavy metal, grabbing onto the best from both sides, getting the balance just right.

The songs of writer/guitarists, Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGhee, written with Bruce Dickinson soundalike, Carl Albert, twist and turn the dynamics of heavy metal in a variety of directions. Most especially on the bruising, battle hardened ‘Dust To Dust’ and the anthemic ‘Abandoned’. Creating their own strain of Power Metal at the same time.

In the hands of other bands, this would have seemed like an act of desperation, an attempt to gain attention. Instead, they helped cement Vicious Rumors’ place in the heavy metal/hard rock canon.

The remastering has added clarity and depth. Good job.

***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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